Psychosis In A Child - Signs, Causes, Diagnosis And Treatment Of Psychosis In A Child

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 21:43

Signs, causes and treatment of psychosis in a child

Psychosis refers to complex mental illnesses, which are characterized by a violation of the ability to distinguish fantasy from reality and to consider what is happening accordingly. Psychosis of any type makes life difficult for a child. It is a problem in organizing thinking, controlling actions, using language correctly, building relationships in accordance with social norms. Childhood psychosis is rare. They are divided into early psychosis (infants and school children) and late psychosis (pre-adolescent and adolescent children).

Content:

• Signs of psychosis in a child
• Causes of psychosis in a child
• Diagnosis of psychosis in a child
• Treatment of psychosis in a child

Signs of psychosis in a child

The manifestation of psychotic behavior can take many forms. The most obvious signs are hallucinations. This is the child's ability to see, feel, hear and touch what is not in reality. Another sign of mental disorder can be defined as delusion - a misinterpretation of the meaning of what really exists. Behavior arises that includes composing words, laughing at unpleasant things, irritation without a reason.

The presence of states of delusion and hallucinations are hallucinations for the diagnosis of psychosis in children. For example, a fairy tale about Cinderella in a healthy child will cause a dream of becoming Cinderella and dislike for an evil stepmother, and a child with psychosis will believe that she is actually Cinderella and her stepmother lives with her in an apartment. Experts agree that an accurate diagnosis of a specific psychosis in pre-adolescence is only possible when the child begins to speak, although disturbed behavior can also indicate this disease.

Causes of psychosis in a child

The causes of psychosis can be short-term or long-term physical conditions. These include medication, fever, hormonal imbalances, and meningitis. Usually, an attack of psychosis, the source of which is a physical problem, stops with its solution. In some cases, it takes a couple of weeks after the treatment of the underlying disease to give the body time to recover and adapt to reality.

There are cases of development of psychosis in children without the presence of concomitant diseases. There is an expert speculation that the source of such conditions is a biochemical deviation. These deviations are considered to be obtained during childbirth or acquired after abuse of drugs or alcohol. Biochemical abnormalities provoked by external factors cause attacks of temporary psychosis. Such a factor can be severe stress, for example, moving to another apartment, entering a gymnasium and others.

Children born with severe constitutional abnormalities suffer from psychosis, spontaneously manifested at an early age. As a rule, they remain disabled throughout their lives. Many physicians do not consider external factors to be convincing for psychosis if it manifests itself symptomatically in early childhood. Research tests the theory of genetic factors as the source of disease.

Diagnosis of psychosis in a child

Diagnostic measures for suspected psychosis in a child take several weeks or months. It should be carefully examined by the following doctors: developmental disease specialist, otolaryngologist, speech therapist, neurologist. A physical and psychological examination is carried out - the child's behavior is observed for a long time, the mental abilities are tested, hearing and speech are checked. Hospitalization for various kinds of studies of the nervous system is possible.

If it is determined that the child's psychosis is based on a physical illness, diagnosis switches to finding its cause. Parents always have the right to doubt the correct diagnosis and can get advice from other specialists.

Treatment of psychosis in a child

Episodic attacks of psychosis associated with a physical condition disappear with the disappearance of the underlying disease. Children with severe psychotic episodes should be monitored by a mental health expert (psychiatrist, social worker, or psychologist) for psychotic episodes. In some cases, children require long-term therapeutic care. Prevention of such cases depends on preventive measures for the underlying causes.

A child who has experienced a breakdown of a psychotic nature, the source of which was a stressful situation, requires short or long-term psychotherapeutic assistance (individual, family psychotherapy, behavior modification). In difficult situations, it is possible to use treatment with medications that compensate for violations of the biochemical type. Treatment of early psychoses is ineffective. Tranquilizers are prescribed exclusively for aggressive behavior.

Article author: Mochalov Pavel Alexandrovich | d. m. n. therapist

Education: Moscow Medical Institute. IM Sechenov, specialty - "General Medicine" in 1991, in 1993 "Occupational Diseases", in 1996 "Therapy".